Brendan Steele leads LIV Adelaide by one stroke after second round at The Grange

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Three-time PGA Tour winner Brendan Steele shot an 8-under 64 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the LIV Tour's Adelaide tournament at The Grange Golf Club.

The 41-year-old Steele's last PGA Tour victory came in 2017 when he won his second Safeway Open. He lost in a playoff to Australian Cameron Smith at the 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii.

Steele had a 36-hole total of 14-under 130. He had a streak of four birdies, a bogey and two birdies in the middle of his round.

Danny Lee was a stroke behind after a 67, followed by Carlos Ortiz (68) and Mito Pereira (67) in a tie for third.

First-round leader Jinichiro Kozuma shot 71 and was tied for ninth, four strokes behind Steele. The Japanese player had an eagle, three birdies and four bogeys.

Jon Rahm, who has yet to win since joining LIV in December, shot 69 and was tied for 15th, six strokes off the lead.

Steele predicted a 20-under total would be needed to win after Sunday’s final round.

“There’s good scores out there for sure,” he said. “If you’re in the fairway, then you can take on a lot of the pins.”

Smith shot 65 and was among those three behind in a four-way tie for fifth.

Enjoying the home crowd's support, Smith said he was grateful for the lady his errant shot hit on the 17th hole. The shot rebounded kindly off the woman and Smith ended up with a birdie on the hole.

“I hit her in the back,” Smith said. “It probably wasn’t going to be in the trees, but it was going to be in the rough and a different lie, so it could have been a different outcome. But (I) made her proud and made a birdie there, and she helped me out — hopefully that eased the pain a little bit for her.”

A new friendship ensued.

“She was nice," Smith said. "I went over there and I signed a ball, and she said ‘just give me a hug’, so I gave her a hug as well. She was sweet.”

The LIV tour remains in the Asia region next week for the May 3-5 Singapore event at the Sentosa Golf Club. Then there's a month-long break before resuming in Houston from June 7-9.

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Captain Cameron Smith of Ripper GC hits his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club Friday, April 26, 2024, in Adelaide, Australia. (LIV Golf via AP)

Brendan Steele of HyFlyers GC hits his shot during the second round of LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club Saturday, April 27, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia.(John Ferrey/LIV Golf via AP)

Brendan Steele of HyFlyers GC hits his shot during the second round of LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club Saturday, April 27, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia.(John Ferrey/LIV Golf via AP)

Brendan Steele of HyFlyers GC waves to the crowd during the second round of LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club Saturday, April 27, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia.(John Ferrey/LIV Golf via AP)

Scott Vincent watches a shot during the second round of LIV Golf Adelaide at The Grange on Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Adelaide, Australia. (Santanu Banik/LIV Golf via AP)

Jinichiro Kozuma reacts to a missed birdie putt on the third hole during the second round of LIV Golf Adelaide at The Grange on Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Adelaide, Australia. (Matthew Harris/LIV Golf via AP)

Carlos Ortiz watches a shot during the second round of LIV Series golf tournament at The Grange on Saturday, April 27, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Matt Turner/LIV Golf via AP)

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania defended Wednesday the decision not to allow Russian and Belarusian observers to monitor its upcoming presidential election, accusing both countries of spearheading campaigns that "pose a threat to our national security.”

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe — which includes Lithuania, Russia and Belarus— usually sends multi-national observer teams to watch its 57 member states’ elections.

The election on Sunday comes at a time when Russia is making gains on the battlefield in Ukraine, where the war has entered its third year, fueling fears across all of Europe and especially in the strategically important Baltic region about Moscow’s intentions.

Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry in a statement Wednesday said the country had invited OSCE observers to monitor the election "except for the aggressor Russia and its supporter Belarus” and accused them of being a threat to the Baltic nation's political and electoral processes.

It also called on the OSCE to reconsider continuing the membership of “countries that most flagrantly violate international law, human rights, and carry out aggression against Ukraine”.

Last month, the OSCE announced it wouldn't send any observers following Lithuania's decision. It said in a statement that signaling nationalities out of the invite was against the rules of equal treatment of all member states and “in breach of the commitments made by all participating States of the OSCE.”

However, the OSCE expressed “full confidence” in Lithuania’s electoral process, while pointing to the “value of an independent external assessment."

In the elections, the popular incumbent, Gitanas Nausėda, is favored to win another five-year term, competing against seven other candidates. If none wins the minimum 50% of votes, a runoff will be held on May 26.

Lithuania's president oversees foreign and security policy and is the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Among the 2,000 observers expected to monitor the balloting, there are 20 international observers from Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, as well as representatives of the United States Election Assistance Fund and the International Fund for Electoral Systems (IFES) office in Ukraine.

Follow AP's Europe coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/europe

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda speaks during a joint media conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during the Lithuanian-German military exercise 'Grand Quadriga' at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)